My Father's Long, Long Legs

In this creepy bit of Twine-delivered interactive fiction, a young girl's father becomes obsessed with digging a hole beneath their house. As the years pass, he begins to resemble less and less the man she once knew... and perhaps even less of a man at all...

A mildly interesting short story. It's not very "interactive" - for the most part, the interaction is the same as turning a page or pressing a button to advance a fixed dialogue. But given how annoying the later interactive loop is, it's probably for the best that there isn't much of it. It was irritating enough that I don't want to trudge through it again in search of a potentially happier ending than the one I got.

I've been a fan of horror games for many years, and like to think my nerves are fairly steady. I made it through "Exmortis" 1 and 2 in a dark house, wearing headphones, with only a desk lamp on. "The House" got me a bit more frazzled and I stuck with speakers. But when

I descended the stairs, the white-on-black type vanished, and I had to grope my way with a flashlight

That did it: lights went on, sound was turned down. And I admit the

digging man's (?) humming

creeped me out enough that I found myself physically moving back from the computer.

Hopefully this is the first of many such works. Lutz builds atmosphere slowly and effectively, pulling you into the narrative step by step. You don't realize how deep you are in it until the screen transition ... and by then, you REALLY want to stop, but your curiosity's grown too strong to go back.

Are there sound effects early on, or do they only show up later? I want to make sure this is working for me before I go any further. I'm just past the parts where you read about the narrator, her mother and brother, and so far haven't heard anything

I, too, would like to know if there are multiple endings, and if so, how I might influence what I get.

I've been through the game thrice now, and I get the same ending, even though I did different choices each time. Then again, I could just be doing it wrong. The last scene does not lend itself well to carefully reasoned choices, with the deliberately minimalistic presentation and the necessary constraints of the mood the author was trying to create.

The writing is stylish entertaining to read, and the narrative was brief enough that you didn't lose interest. The interactive bits at the end gave it a House of Leaves vibe. I'd argue that it's simply an example of ergodic literature (although ergodic literature is rarely simple) rather than a game, which is fine by my.

I thought the circular part near the end did exactly what it was meant to do - relay a sense of confusion to the reader. I suspect there is really only one 'ending', triggered when you realize that you can't "solve" the last section.

I don't think you should hear any sound effects until later in the game when you return to the house and search the basement.

To everyone having issues with the ending "puzzle" sequence,

all you need to do is explore until the game tells you that you can follow the "sound of digging". Keep following it. It will take a while and might not seem like you're getting anywhere, but remember... this tunnel has been dug for a LONG time, so it's deep!

Would someone who has already played this tell me if there are any 'screamers' (upsetting imagery suddenly popping up on the screen or unexpected loud noises)? I love creepy things and read a lot of Lovecraft, so I'm not concerned about the material, but sudden jolting sound or visuals are not good for my nerves.

Hi Ruth, the game plays fine for me. :) As mentioned in the review, while there are times it may seem that the game stops with no options, you should wait a bit and the game will update with more text.

That does seem like a valid ending and there definitely doesn't seem to be anything else after that (I've left it for over an hour). But I feel like maybe I'm missing a branch somewhere? The only branches I've found are

Mums story, brothers story and my story but no other branchings and no option to explore the basement?

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